


On the Horizon

by Anthropasaurus



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Also the Inquisitor is a bit of an asshole, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But it's mainly a Dragon Age/Horizon Zero Dawn crossover, Crossover, Definitely a thorn in Solas' side at the moment, F/M, I just want to get this out there for everyone to read, I promise, I'm still fleshing it out, It's going to be a mix of multiple things I like, More tags will be added later, but she's working on it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 23:01:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11815983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthropasaurus/pseuds/Anthropasaurus
Summary: What if the dwarves weren’t the only ones who could invent? What if the ancient elves knew more than just magic? What if the elves created creatures out of stone, metal and lyrium to protect their borders and temples? What if they could withstand the test of time? All these are true and they are the key to defeating Corypheus…at least Adahlena thinks they are. The mark holds the key to sealing more than just the rifts. With it, she can build an army that will shadow all in Thedas.Note: This will be on hiatus until further notice. I completely changed the story and I am in the process of building a new world. It will come back.





	On the Horizon

The breeze tickled the hairs on the back of Adahlena’s sweat slicked neck. It was a cool reprieve from the mugginess that came with the wet season every year. “Where did they go?” She scanned the river bank, looking for any sign. The rain from earlier washed away any signs the herd had passed through. Instead she was left with nothing but pure speculation. Adahlena had trailed the herd every time the caravan had stopped in this part of the forest. She would follow and study them for days at a time, only returning to camp when her food ran out or one of the hunters was sent to retrieve her. “If it’s the time of year I think it is, they should be in the ruins.” She rummaged in her pack until she found her old leather bound notebook. Pages had been added throughout the years, her older charcoal sketches smudged over time, and flowers pressed between the pages. She found the corresponding pages and confirmed her hunch. With that thought in mind, she grabbed her things and disappeared deeper into the forest. 

Ahead of her the ruins of an old temple loomed in the distance. The rigors of time had all but erased the buildings from the forest. Each year the elements wore a more and more away of the building. Flecks of paint could still be found if one looked hard enough. She wove her way through the trees, with a practiced ease. The ruins of the temple had become a familiar sight over the years, as did the herd that lived in the area. What little was left provided shelter for Adah many a time from both the storm and the unforgiving rays of the sun. Today it provided the perfect vantage point. Her footsteps echoed through the stone building. It always reminded her of an old friend, welcoming her back year after year. She ran her hands over the familiar stonework, her mind dreaming up endless ideas of what this place was. Of all the ideas her mind dream up, time after time she found herself coming back to the idea that it used to be a temple of Ghilan'nain.

Her wonderings were stopped short when she heard a familiar sound. They were here. It was too early for them to come back to the temple. They only passed through here in wet the dew was still fresh on the ground and after the fireflies had started to emerge. She ran to the entrance and was greeted by a familiar sight; in front of her a dozen harts milled in the clearing. They did not graze on the fresh grass or nurse any young, for there was none. These hart were unlike the ones Adah saw every day in the camp. These were the remnants of the guardians of this forest. Machines created by the gods to protect The People. The sun glinted off of their quartz antlers as the milled about. The lyrium pulsed under the scales of their armor. These were machines made out of stone and metal, powered by lyrium. She had found remains in her travels, with faint traces of lyrium left in the carcasses of those that had fallen either in war or by hunters. 

She stepped off of the step and stood in the clearing across from them. Normally she stuck to the trees or the safety of the temple. But something about today was urging her to throw caution to the wind. A twig snap drew their attention to where she was standing. They stood and stared at one another. Adah was both giddy with how close she had managed to get as well as terrified that they’ll charge and run her through. However neither of those things happened. Instead, the one she had deemed The Matriarch took a few hesitant steps towards her. It was larger and more finely made, appearing as though its creator poured every ounce of love into creating it. As if pulled by an invisible string, she found herself walking farther and farther into the clearing. The Matriarch stopped in front of Adah and regarded her with a glowing eye. Cautiously, Adah reached out a hand. The lyrium pulsed beneath the stone and metal as the hart took a step back. She dropped her hand and waited, unsure of what she should do. Once again the hart stepped closer. But this time it reached out for Adah. Adah sucked in a breath and waited several excruciating seconds before she reached out and touched the hart’s nose. She stepped closer and ran her hand along its face, an overwhelming sense of exhilaration welled within her. But before she could process her emotions she felt something prick at the back of her mind. Curious, she let it inside.

A familiar feeling washed over her and before she could question it an arrow went whizzing past her and bounced off the side of the hart. Sensing danger they are turned and fled the clearing, leaving a very confused Adah behind. “What did I just feel?” She flexed her hand while the owner of the arrow walked past and retrieved it. 

“Lethallan, the keeper asked that we find you.” 

“Of course.” She followed the hunters through the forests. Some of them were on their way back from a successful hunt. Between several of the hunters there were carcasses of a ram, fish and several hares. They were gathering food for the upcoming gathering. “Is that time of the year already?” One of the hunters handed her a bushel of herbs for her to pick the thorns off as they walk. 

“It is the end of the rainy season, dal’en,” he chuckled. “Are you so lost in your own thoughts that you cannot tell the time of the year?”

“I knew the rainy season just ended. But it felt like just yesterday that we were at the gathering. Do you know how many clans are coming this year?”

“Only a few, I’m afraid. The shemlen war has made it difficult for most clans to make the journey.”

“They’ve been getting smaller and smaller. Have the keepers thought about moving it?”

“Where we are is currently the safest place. There had been rumors that it was going to be moved to the Brecilian Forest or the Arbor Wilds. But our woods have the most of Ghilan'nain’s children. No other place is as safe.”

 

“You want me to go where?” Adahlena looked at the keeper and wondered for the countless time if she had truly gone mad.

“There have been talks in the human villages of a gathering in Fereldon, at a Temple of Sacred Ashes.”

“I know. I’ve heard them talk about it. I just don’t understand why it has to be me.” Adahlena picked at the grass around her and slowly shredded it. The keeper fixed her with that old stare that never failed to make her squirm. “Can you not look at me like that? I always feel like I’m in some sort of trouble.”

“Because you usually were in trouble,” the old elf chuckled. “I would not ask this of you if I did not think you couldn’t do it. You have learned much since you came to us. You are ready.”

“I do not think I ever want to be ready,” she grumbled. “I feel like you and the others are preparing me for some sort of sacrifice.”

“We would never sacrifice one of our own, dal’en,” the keeper soothed. She reached a hand out and smoothed it over Adahlena’s hair. “You have a great power within you, whether you see it or not. All we have done is taught you the ways of the world so you can use that power for something greater than yourself. The Chantry gathers in the south, across the Waking Sea. Go and see. You will find your answers there. But be wary dal’en, the wolf will be watching you.”

 

A sharp pain woke her and through the fog of sleep, Adahlena felt Sera’s elbow in her cheek as the fog of sleep slowly lifted. The hazy edges of the dream still lingered on the outside on her consciousness as she yawned and stretched. Outside the birds chirped and sang, heralding the coming dawn. She knew she wasn’t going to fall back asleep and instead chose to look into the snapmaw sighting the scout had reported the evening before. She dressed quickly and quietly, not bothering to be gentle when she yanked her shawl out from under Sera. However all Sera did was grumble and throw an arm out to where Adah had been sleeping a few moments ago. The other elf had somehow managed to take up a majority of the tent, leaving very little room for Adah to sleep. In most normal situations this would not be an issue. But Adah had an aversion to being touched by anyone. When awake, Sera kept her distance. But sleeping Sera was another matter. She always somehow managed to either sprawl into Adah’s space or roll onto her. It made sleeping on missions next to impossible. 

She slipped out the back of the tent and kept a close eye on the dozing scout as she snuck through the camp. The morning mist blanketed the ground as she slipped and stumbled her way through the rocks, her excitement causing her to be less careful with her footing. Normally she would have waited for Bull and Sera. But since she agreed to join the Inquisition she hadn’t been able to enjoy a moment alone. She was used to disappearing from her clan for hours, even days, at a time. Here she couldn’t sneeze without one of Leliana’s scouts watching in the background. It would have been a funny thought, if it weren’t true. She reached the river and searched for the perfect vantage point, while she waited for the snapmaw to return from the ocean.

“I thought we agreed you were not ready yet?” A familiar voice behind Adah stirred her from her thoughts. With a squeak she turned and looked over at Solas. Her surprise quickly turned to annoyance as the familiar elf looked down his nose at her. 

“I didn’t agree to anything,” she grumbled. “I said I would consider what you said. I considered it and I want that snapmaw. It chased a dragon off Solas….a dragon. I want to see if I can get it.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I’ve known people that said leaving their house was too dangerous. It’s just a matter of perspective,” she shrugged. “Now that you’re here, you can watch my things.” She tossed her bow, shawl and everything else that would slow her down at Solas. He scrambled to catch everything, and before he could even throw a withering glare in her direction, she was down the hill.

“Fenehidis lasa,” he muttered. He shouldered her weapon and shawl and drew his staff. Ever since she had agreed to stay he found himself questioning his sanity and patience more often than he could remember. His first assumptions of her were far from what he now sees in front of him. Before she was quiet, docile, and willing be pushed or pulled whichever direction she needed to go. But as soon as they dealt with the Chantry in ValRoyeaux, it’s as if a switch had flipped in her brain. She now ran off after machine, bandit and whatever else struck her fancy. This would not have been an issue if she knew how defend herself. Each time she ran off, it required at least two people to save her from some sort of mishap. 

 

Oblivious to Solas’ annoyance, Adah slid into the tall grass and inched her way to the water’s edge. “I have one shot to get this or I’m dead.” It was still early enough that most animals had not ventured to the river to drink yet. Only a solitary old ram and the birds were her company. She felt the snapmaw before she saw it. It lumbered across the beach, seaweed stuck to its scales, each hulking footstep sending a small shockwave through the ground. For a split moment Adah realized Solas may have been right. Watchers and striders were one thing. She had never overridden a machine of this size or aggression before. Though for as small as the watchers were they were by far the most annoying to deal with. They never travelled alone; always in packs of at least three. 

She waited until it was a few yards away until she let out a low whistle. From what she studied on the living machines she encountered as well as the remains, she guessed the access point would be on its stomach. In theory that seemed simple enough. All she needed to do was position herself just right and wait for it to walk over her. But her theories seldom worked out how they were supposed to. It was when she felt the chill of the icy fog rolling from its jaws that Adah realized she should have waited for the others. But it was too late to try and run away. It was it do it or die, and she was rather fond of living. 

“One...two…three.” As soon as her hand touched the access point, the machine felt the invasion of the mark. It opened the access point for her mana and she immediately immobilized its legs. However in her haste, she forgot to keep it standing, and it sunk down on her. She felt a rib crack as the air was forced out of her lungs. What felt like an eternity later, her mana reached the heart of the machine. She felt the flutter of the slumbering spirit and cradled it with a gentle caress. It’s time to wake up. She felt the spirit flutter and wake. For a split second it recoiled from the intrusion, but calmed when it felt the familiar feel of her mana. Like the watchers and striders before, she had managed to bend the machine to her will. Her mana had altered it. It no longer walked through the ages without a thought or a purpose. Now it was attuned to Adah’s will, and a flicker of her mana its control rod. 

The gears clicked and whirred as the spirit stirred. A wheezing groan escaped her lips as the weight of the snapmaw left her. “By the Creators you’re heavy.” She rolled onto her side and coughed as the air came rushing back. “Not ready, my ass. Shove that where the sun don’t shine, Solas”. As she lay there, the adrenaline wore off and the extent of her injuries became apparent. “By the Creators.” she croaked. “I think I may be dying.”

“I can assure you, you are not dying.” Solas waited until the snapmaw had moved out of the way before he approached Adah. He knelt on the grass and ran his hand over her chest and arms. “You have a broken rib and a dislocated shoulder.” He reached into his mana and sent a healing spell coursing through her body. When his spell healed most of her damage he helped her to her feet. “What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“I was thinking ‘I want that snapmaw. It’ll be perfect for in the lake at Haven.’ Our forces are severely lacking Solas. We need more than a few recruits and some watchers. Whoever…or whatever created the Breach is still out there.”

“That may be so. But that does not mean you should run off without a care!”

“I’m not! I’ve studied these machines for years! I know how they work, and I know how they move.”

“Studying the herd of harts or halla are not the same as these other machines.”

“I haven’t studied just them. There are ruins,” she gasped. Her chest felt as if it was on fire. She couldn’t tell what was causing her more pain, the shoulder, her rib, or Solas’ healing spell. “I’ve been to countless ruins in the Marches and Antiva. I have seen the machines our gods have built. I have seen the scars they have left behind. Just as you study the fade, I study them.”He opened mouth to say something, but Adah held up a hand before she gathered her things and walked away. “I am not going to have this argument again, Solas.”

“Because you continue to refuse to see reason.”

“And what reason is it that I’m supposed to see? Do enlighten me.”

“The mark on your hand is the only thing that has successfully sealed the Breach. You cannot continue to run around and throw your life into danger, without so much as an afterthought.”

“The mark…..the mark. The mark. The mark,” she spat vehemently. “Is that all everyone sees when they look at me anymore? I am a living breathing person, Solas.” She stormed off several yards before she stopped and yelled over her shoulder. “Return to camp, and tell the others I need a moment alone…and do not worry yourself over the precious mark. The snapmaw will keep it safe.” She left Solas in the clearing, the snapmaw following at a sluggish pace. 

 

Adah followed the river upstream, her anger cooling as the water soaked her clothes. She knew Solas and the others were right to worry. She was the only one that could seal the Breach and close the rifts. But being seen as nothing but a tool in their eyes wore away what little patience she had left. If this was what the Keeper meant when she said she would find her answers, she’d rather tell the answers to go pound sand. She was content with the clan, happy even. But for all of her complaining and being shuffled around like a priceless Orleasian vase, she found herself looking forward to each new mission. Each mission took her to new places she would have never had dreamed of seeing.  
“What was that?” She turned, half expecting to see Solas or one of the others. But instead she found herself utterly alone. She was so lost in her thoughts; she did not realize she had climbed to where the snapmaw could not follow. “Shit.” Her curiosity to find the source of the noise spurred her to the top of the cliff face. 

The ground vibrated with every step the goliath of a machine took. With her time with the Dalish she had only seen the fragmented remains of such a machine. To see one alive was seeing something out of a story book. She had heard tales of what her people called walkers that would journey through the lands. They were a moving monument for each god. Each was adorned with the markings of one of the Creators. Precious metals, jewels and veins of lyrium gave the walkers an almost omnipotent aura. Whenever she looked at the fragmented remains of such creatures she truly wondered what the elvhen were capable of. She murmured a silent prayer as she thought up a plan. It was almost upon her and the impulse to climb to its head was too much for her to bear. She knew at the top of the head there was what seemed like an access point to channel one’s mana. What for she had no idea. But she was going to find out. This was the first living walker she found and she was not going to let the opportunity pass her by.

Once it was almost within jumping distance, she backed up several paces. She gave herself enough space to build up speed as she ran to the edge and leapt off of the cliff. Her grip felt weak and her palms were sweaty. It was in that moment she realized Solas may have been right. But that wasn’t going to stop her. Oh no. Her stubborn nature and anger over the condescending tone of his voice spurred her on. With every argument and comment from Solas running through her head, she found the strength to pull herself up and climb to the top. “Take that egg.” The drizzle made the surface slick to the touch, forcing her to crouch and crawl her way to the center. At the center was what looked like a pedestal with an imprint of an indistinct handprint. She placed her marked hand on the imprint and flooded her mana into the mark. In an instant, she felt the welcoming essence of the walker. Unlike the others, the spirit of this machine did not slumber. Her mana spread through the machine, like a climbing vine searching for the canopy. Before she reached the core, she felt a gentle push and probe. Confused she tried to push her mana forward, but was stopped once again. The spirit enveloped her mana and gently guided it away from the core. Once they were a safe distance away it gently probed again, waiting for Adah to catch on to what it wanted. “You want inside?” More curious than confused, she opened her mind and a wealth of information came flooding it. Memories went flashing before her eyes more than her mind could comprehend. “Slow down. I can’t understand what you’re showing me. I don’t speak elvhen.” The relentless onslaught of images did not stop until the very end. They trickled off like drops of water before the spirit withdrew back into the core. “Shit,” she groaned. A headache oozed to the forefront of her mind as she tried to sift through the thoughts. “Shit. I told you to slow down.” She fell to her side and massaged her temples, while she waited for the headache to subside.

 

“Oy! Where’s the other elfy?” Sera looked up from her food as Solas entered camp. 

“She said she would need a moment alone.”

“You two get into a fight again?” Bull asked.

“We did not fight. We merely had different opinions on her actions from this morning.”

“What did she do now?” 

“She went after the snapmaw, after I explicitly told her she was not ready for such a machine.”

“Did she catch it?”

“Yes.”

“Then she’s ready,” Bull shrugged. 

“You were not there,” Solas snapped. His mind went back to events from earlier that morning. His carefully laid plans were at the mercy of an elf that regularly knocked on death’s door. From her actions alone, he had to come up with several contingency plans in the off chance she died before the Breach was properly sealed and his orb recovered. “She was nearly crushed alive.”

“You hear that?” Sera grabbed her bow and walked to the edge of the camp. The three of them turned and looked towards the ridge that overlooked the camp. Each had their weapon drawn, expecting to fight the dragon they had spotted the day before. Instead of a dragon, they were greeted by the very walker Adah had found.

“Shite!” Panicked, Sera notched several arrows and frantically searched for a place to claim as higher ground.

“Do not worry, Sera.” Solas lowered his staff and looked up at the familiar machine. “These machines are harmless. They wander the lands, recording everything they see.” 

As if on cue, Adah’s head popped over the edge, eliciting a groan from the other members of the party. She waved down at them, giving off the appearance as if she was not utterly confused and terrified at the prospect of getting down from the walker. All she had was a length of rope that was too short and her bow. Her fear quickly gave way to the excitement of the prospect of repelling down the walker. She knew her rope would go the majority of the length. But it was the last several yards or so that she would have to think of a solution on her own. Her mana was still fully charged, and with Solas’ healing spell her body was in top form, albeit a little sore. With a loud whoop and laugh, she leapt off the edge of the walker, putting her fate into the will of the Creators. Her body twisted and contorted in the air as she grabbed her spool of roped and launched the grappling hook at the edge of the machine. It found purchase with one of the scales along the rim, allowing her to descend safely. Before she reached the end of her rope she drew upon her mana and using a force spell, propelled herself several feet in the air. She used the extra length of rope and cracked it like a whip, successfully dislodging her grappling hook when the wave reached the top. She fell the rest of the distance and called upon a force spell again when she was a few yards from the ground. It propelled her to the side, allowing her to tuck and roll when she hit the grass. She staggered to her feet long enough to grab her rope and look at her companions that were running towards her. “Did you see that? Please tell me everyone saw that!” Adah collapsed to the ground, the last bit of adrenaline leaving her body. She felt like a limp noodle as she rolled around laughing. She did not intend to leap from the walker. But at the time it seemed like the best option. 

“That was bad ass.” Bull yelled.

“I can’t believe I survived that.” She looked up at the others, a crazy laugh slipping out from between her lips. “I can’t believe I did that.” After several attempts and multiple shying away from offers of help, Adah managed to climb to her feet. She staggered around like newborn foal for several steps, her legs still weak. “What’s next for our list of things to do?”

“We need to head back to Haven. We received word from Leliana in regards to the mages in Redcliffe.”Judging from Solas’ tight-lipped response, Adah knew there would be no talking to him for the rest of the day. Still that did not stop her from trying to poke or prod him. She didn’t know what it was about him, but she felt the incessant need to get under the calm and cool exterior. 

“Do we have time to find the snapmaw? I think I left it over by the cave where we found the artifact.”

“No. We have delayed long enough.”

“I-alright.” A tick in Solas’ jaw stopped Adah short. She was still figuring how far she could push the man, and today was a today that she needed to stop before noon. But that did not mean she was not going to continue the very next day. She made it a mental note to add it to her list of things she was discovering about him. He was not the only person she had a section of notes on. So far she had several pages in the back of her notebook pertaining to each member of her inner circle. His was the most extensive because he was the hardest to crack. 

 

They had travelled nonstop throughout the day, each of the companions keeping to themselves. Adah was fortunate enough to have a spot on the back of the supply cart where she spent most of the time pouring over her map and notebook. Only Sera was able to pry her away when they all needed to help set up camp. That was largely in part to Sera tossing the map and notebook to Bull and Bull threatening to hug Adah if she tried to snatch them back. It was time to set up camp and Herald or no, she was going to help the others. 

“Why do you keep your nose buried in your book? Anythin interesting?” 

“For me, yes. For you, no. I’m trying to sift through the memories that walker gave me.”

“How can that thing give you memories?”

“The machine itself didn’t. The spirit that lives within the walker did.”

“Wait, you let a demon into your head?” Sera notched an arrow and pointed it at Adah. “Say something to show you’re not possessed.”

“Spirit, Sera. Not demon…and I don’t know what I could say that would make you believe that I’m not possessed. But rest assured, if I am possessed cloud my vision. I already have terrible eyesight.”

“Right. Good to know.” 

Adah chuckled as she watched Sera move to the other side of the camp. Part of her felt bad for using Sera’ fear of the fade against her; but she had too much to sift through to sit and idly chat with the girl. She turned her attention back to the notebook and map she had spread out on her makeshift table, that was nothing more than one of the crates from the cart. What she was able to pick out were small tidbits of information, mostly consisting of where and when the walker encountered other machines. She marked the locations on the map. But there were a handful of memories that kept lurking that she couldn’t quite figure out. “Shit. I’m going to have to ask him.” The thought of having a bad tooth pulled seemed more preferable to talking to Solas after the argument they had earlier that day. But she wanted answers, and he was the only person that could help. A frustrated noise emitted from her throat as she gathered her things and trudged to the other side of the camp. She knew she needed to apologize, but that was something she was never skilled at doing. The few times the keeper managed to force an apology out of her, it was usually under the pain of death or worse, being forced to stay in the aravel with the other seamstresses. 

“I need your help.”

“I beg your pardon?” Confused Solas looked up from his note to a fidgeting Adah. He spied the notebook and half hazard folded map she was clutching to her chest. 

“I need your help sifting through the memories the walker gave me. I can only vaguely pinpoint the locations of other machines. You’re a dreamer. You could-“

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I will not condone this reckless behavior.”

“I understand my behavior as of late has been…somewhat reckless.”

“Somewhat?” He threw her a dubious look as she avoided his gaze. 

“Okay, fully reckless and irresponsible. But that was because I was going in essentially blind…and I’m not referring to my eyesight.” She watched and waited for him to respond, but he kept looking at her with the same look she had received on numerous occasions. He looked at her as if they both knew she only taking responsibility for her actions to a certain point in order to get what she wanted. 

“If that is all you have to say, we have nothing more to discuss.” With a dismissive wave of his hand, Solas turned his attention back to his book. An inhuman noise gurgled out of Adah’s mouth as she glared at the source of her ire. When he showed no sign of reacting or responding, Adah turned and stomped back to the other side of the camp. Finally alone, Solas smirked to himself. Just as she was learning how far she could push him, he too was doing the same thing; though his was a quicker and easier study. She was an open book compared to him. It would be interesting to see what tactic she would cook up to try and get him to help her.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright my lovely readers, I chose not to go into detail about the machines because I will be publishing a bestiary in the next week or so. Also it is going to follow the Dragon Age arc, but it is going to have a lot of HZD added into it. I may also have a reference for what parts of HZD can be found in Thedas.


End file.
